Des Moines man arrested after hitting son with van

Des Moines Police took a man to jail Wednesday after they say he intentionally used a minivan to hit his bicycle-riding son. Officers were called to a parking lot on Des Moines’ east side at 9:15 a.m. on the report of a minivan hitting a bicycle.

Sergeant Jeff Edwards says they quickly learned the driver of the van was the father of the bicyclist. Edwards says the father was upset because his son had not come home for two days. “When he approached him, the son tried to ride away on his bicycle. The father wanted to stop him from escaping so he could take him home. He used the motor vehicle to clip the back of the bicycle,” Edwards said.

The boy, 15-year-old Aaron Iruegas, may have suffered a broken leg. The father, 41-year-old Manuel Gomez-Iruegas, was taken into custody. He’s facing charges of assault with a weapon causing injury and child endangerment.